John Lineker admits Kim Jae Woong’s gameplan caught him by ‘surprise’

Former ONE bantamweight world champion and current No.1-ranked bantamweight MMA contender ‘Hands of Stone’ John Lineker has seen and done it all in the sport of mixed martial arts. However, the 33-year-old veteran admits that what he experienced against Kim Jae Woong in his last fight came as a total surprise.

Lineker and Kim went to war at ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Prime Video last Friday night, with ‘Hands of Stone’ scoring a Hail Mary technical knockout with four seconds left on the clock.

Known for his unbridled knockout power, Lineker took a while to get going, and had to overcome Kim’s underrated grappling game in order to get the finish. A left hook on the chin dropped the South Korean to the canvas, and Lineker followed up with shots from the top to close the show.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post after the fight, Lineker said he was caught off guard with Kim’s unusual game plan.

‘Hands of Stone’ said:

“Yeah, he did surprise me. In the beginning, I thought he was gonna strike and he started grappling. And then I was able to impose my game.”

See the interview below:

Kim, who has nine knockouts out of 13 wins as a professional, isn’t known as a grappler by any means. Against the awesome power of Lineker, however, everyone wants to head to the canvas to try their luck.

ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Prime Video took place at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch a replay of all the action absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video.